The TDI Prophecy
by xXPokePotterIslandXx
Summary: An old enemy approaches to finish what they started. Look for the skull to receive your first warning or blood will reign forever. When the Thunderclan medicine cat receives this new prophecy from Starclan, a chain of events rapidly begin to unfold, such as a new rogue in the clan territories and the arrival of a supposedly long-gone enemy.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs!**

_A heavy-set dark brown tom with copper eyes padded up to a giant tree standing in the centre of a clearing. The Great Oak. But the tom wasn't paying any attention to the tree, despite its gargantuan size. No, his gaze was fixed on the small, pale object sitting at the base of the tree. As he walks towards it, his ears were pricked with curiosity and his tail was high. The tom was at ease. But all this changed once he is able to see the object clearly. His fur puffed up with fear and he jumped back, because now he can see that the object is the grinning skull of a cat. _

_A rumbling noise made the tom raise his head and look around wildly, eyes wide with fear. Thick, dark water crashed through the surrounding bushes, crushing the masses of twigs and leaves as if they weren't even there. The tom yowled in fear and tried to run, but the water caught up and swept him into its destructive current. The tom opened his mouth to let out another instinctive cry of fear and liquid filled his mouth. The tom's heart filled with dread at the coppery taste. This wasn't water, it was blood. _

_He spat the foul liquid out and paddled desperately to try and keep to the surface of the blood-torrent. _

_Suddenly, he heard a shriek of pain and fear. The tom struggled to turn toward the sound, when another shriek cried out. Then another. Then another. Soon, the agonized shrieking of cats is all the tom could hear other than the rushing of the blood. He looked around, trying to locate the suffering cats, but they were nowhere to be seen. _

_The tom slammed into a tree and he latched onto the bark with his claws, pulling up his body safely away from the murderous liquid that was destroying everything around him. All he could hear are the shrieks of cats, the rush of the blood below him and the beating of his own heart. And a voice. _

_The tom looked up at the sky, where the voice came from, but all he can see are the stars. The voice speaks: _

"An old enemy approaches to finish what they started,

Look to the skull to receive your only warning,

Or blood will reign forever."

Oakstep shot to his paws, gasping for breath. Still hearing the shrieking cats, he looked around wildly, before breathing a long sigh of relief upon realizing that he was in the medicine den. He licked his puffed-up coat so the fur lay flat again and made his way out of the den.

Oakstep raised his tail happily at the bustle of activity in the Thunderclan camp. He glanced around the groups of cats sharing tongues, coming back from the dawn patrol or sharing fresh kill. His gaze alighted on a lean black tom with bright green eyes, which right now are narrowed with worry.

"Hey, Ravensong!" The black tom looked up and pricked his ears happily at the sight of the Thunderclan medicine cat walking over to him.

"Hey Oakstep," Ravensong replied, sitting comfortably back on his haunches. "What's up?"

"Have you seen your sister, Emberheart?"

Ravensong shook his head. "Not recently, but she's probably organising the patrols right now. She usually does it early."

The black tom cocked his head. "Speaking of sisters, have you seen my other littermate, Sparkfire? She's gone missing again and you know what kind of stuff happens when she's left to her own devices."

Oakstep shuddered. "I only wish I did, tom. That she-cat's way too unpredictable."

Ravensong chuckled, "Can't argue with that, dude. Need anything else while we're talking?" Oakstep shook his head. "Nah, just wondering where Emberheart is. Good luck finding Sparkfire!" Ravensong sighed. "Knowing her, I'll need it." He ran off into the forest to try and find his littermate.

"Snowfeather, I need you to lead the first hunting patrol with Sunleaf and Riverpaw. Jayclaw, you will lead the second with Addertongue and Cloudrunner."

Oakstep padded over to the tortoiseshell she-cat separating the cats into their chosen groups.

Emberheart was the deputy of Thunderclan, and very determined to do a good job of it. She'd always been a hard-worker, so it came as a surprise to no-one when Skystar chose her to be deputy.

She was quite a pretty she-cat, not the first to catch your eye, true, but still pretty. Her head was ginger, and her ears were black. Her forelegs and back paws were also ginger, while her middle was white and her back legs were black, and she had a ginger and black spotted tail with a white tip. But not many toms try and flirt with her, mainly for the fact that Emberheart is most certainly _not_ interested in having kits. She always said it's because she's too busy with her deputy duties to have a family, but Oakstep knew it's because her heart had already been captured by a handsome, smooth-talking tom. A tom who, in Oakstep's opinion, didn't deserve it at all: Addertongue.

The reddish-brown tabby tom in question stepped forward. "Emberheart," He began in a voice as smooth and subtle as the snake he was named after. Oakstep could practically hear the deputy catch her breath at the sound.

"not to question your excellent decisions but, maybe it would be best if _I_ lead the patrol of Sunleaf and Riverpaw and Snowfeather can join Jayclaw's patrol." Addertongue bowed his head in respect. "Of course, it is your decision and I'm sure you'll choose the perfect groups for the patrols. I just thought a little input couldn't hurt."

Emberheart shifted uncomfortably. "Well… the groups you suggested could work I guess… yes, yes we'll use your groups." Addertongue dipped his head again and walked over to his new patrol.

Oakstep couldn't help but feel a little admiration for Addertongue's manipulation of the otherwise strong she-cat, even it was a bitter sort of admiration. That tom was as smooth as Oakstep's mama's honey-berry paste. And no one can compete with honey-berry paste, it's really useful for getting the kits to swallow some of the more bitter herbs.

Oakstep regarded Emberheart with pity as her gaze noticeably darted over to Addertongue every now and again. The poor she-cat's going to wind up with a broken heart.

He padded over to her and she turned toward him. Instantly, she went from a lovesick she-cat to a strong, confident deputy.

"Hello Oakstep, everything all right in the medicine den? Do you need me to assign patrols to look for herbs?" Oakstep shook his head. "Nah, everything's good in the medicine den. I just need to talk to Skystar." Emberheart nodded in understanding and walked off, signalling with her tail for Oakstep to follow.

Emberheart pushed aside the bramble tendrils hanging over the entrance to the Thunderclan leader's den and Oakstep padded inside. Skystar looked up from the piece of fresh kill he was eating and shifted into a sitting position. "Oakstep, what brings you here?"

"I need to tell you something." Oakstep glanced nervously at Emberheart before adding, "In private." Emberheart's ears pressed flat against her skull with anger that she should be excluded, but Skystar nodded and turned to his deputy. "Leave us." Emberheart's eyes grew wide with shock, but she dipped her head submissively and exited the den, tail twitching with barely veiled annoyance.

Skystar turned back to Oakstep. "What is it you need to tell me?"

Oakstep inhaled deeply, and then let the breath out before replying hesitantly, "I think that… Starclan has given us a prophecy."

**A/N: And there you have it! My first chapter of my third fanfiction! I won't be able to update this one as much as the other two but I will try to manage at least a chapter a week! Try and guess who the cat's human counterparts are in your reviews! Let me tell you now that Snowfeather, Sunleaf, Riverpaw and Cloudrunner are OCs and do not have human counterparts and that you don't have to try and guess Jayclaw or Skystar since I haven't said anything about Jayclaw yet and Skystar's human counterpart doesn't appear canonically and that he's pretty much OC. Please Review! Edit: Changed the tense. Present tense doesn't really work with third person.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs**

Bluemoon supressed a flinch as Frostwind pulled out the thorn in her paw. Bluemoon began to lick the injured pad as the medicine cat buried the thorn.

"Thank you." Bluemoon dipped her head in gratitude towards the grey and white tabby she-cat. Frostwind only stared back.

Bluemoon shot a suspicious glance at the medicine den after she exits. What was with that she-cat? She'd never spoken a word as long as Bluemoon's been alive!

"Hey Bluemoon!" the blue she-cat pricked her ears and turned toward the voice. A big brown and black tabby she-cat gestured at the piece of fresh-kill lying at her feet. "Come on, this mouse ain't gonna eat itself!"

"Don't remind me Rowanpelt." Bluemoon replied with an eye-roll as she made her way to her friend. "That thing shouldn't even count as fresh-kill. I mean look at it! It has flies!"

"She-cat, you should be used to this by now." Rowanpelt replied as Bluemoon settled down beside her. "Starclan forbid that Coldstar lets us have the fresh-kill that's actually fresh."

Bluemoon frowned at the rotting mouse before taking a quick bite. She immediately gagged and retched a little at the taste but managed to swallow. She's eaten prey this quality her whole life, same goes to all the other members of her clan except for Coldstar and Thunderstep, the Shadowclan leader and deputy. The only advantage of eating nothing but rotten prey is that she no longer gets bellyaches and vomits up her breakfast.

Steeling herself, Bluemoon leaned forward to take another bite of the mouse, when suddenly it was whisked out of view.

"I'll be taking that if you don't mind." Bluemoon snarled as she glared at the black she-cat standing in front of her, the mouse snagged on one razor sharp claw.

"Seriously Nightheart? That mouse is like, half-rotten!"

"So why should you miss it?" Nightheart replied smugly.

"And why should you want it?" Rowanpelt growled back, pushing herself to her paws. Nightheart just rolled her eyes, unintimidated by the larger she-cat. "Because it's less rotten than my mouse, duh! Golddaisy! Sparrowspark!"

Two more she-cats, one beautiful and golden with bright blue eyes, the other a smaller, mousier, ginger and brown tabby, approached eagerly.

"Hi Nightheart! Ooh, are we going to share that mouse?" The golden one, Golddaisy, asked, looking hungrily at the prey. Nightheart rolled her eyes. "No mouse-brain, my weird blue sister here has already taken a bite out of it. No way am I losing any more of it! I just called you two over here so you can make sure that Rowanpelt and Bluemoon don't steal it from me." Golddaisy's tail drooped with disappointment while the tabby, Sparrowspark, casted a nervous glance at Bluemoon and Rowanpelt.

"Nightheart, I don't think Golddaisy and I are the right cats for this job. We aren't very good at fighting." Nightheart simply flicked her tail at the she-cat, replying nonchalantly, "If you aren't very good at fighting, then you're not warriors. Now shut up and let me eat!" With that, the black she-cat bent down and took a bite of the mouse.

Bluemoon bristled at her sister. What right did she have to steal her food? True, it's hardly good food, but it's all she's going to get until next sunrise! Thunderstep was very strict with rationing the fresh kill pile, only three helpings a day at most, and that would've been Bluemoon's third helping!

Rowanpelt hissed and Golddaisy and Sparrowspark surrounded Nightheart protectively, though they looked a little unsure. Bluemoon's ears flattened and she approached the two she-cats. "Are you gonna move?" she snarled, "Or do I have to throw you out of my way?"

Sparrowspark shifted her feet nervously in the face of Bluemoon's wrath, but Golddaisy dropped into a battle-stance. "You can try, but we have warrior training!" But even she cringed in fear at Bluemoon's bared teeth.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF STARCLAN ARE YOU WARRIORS DOING?" All five she-cats snapped to attention as a humongous, burly dark brown tom marched towards them. He glared at them all with narrowed eyes and Bluemoon suppressed a gulp of fear.

"Bluemoon was trying to steal my ration Thunderstep!" Nightheart piped up. Bluemoon bristled at the accusation and argued furiously, "That's so not true! Nightheart stole from me!"

"I COULDN'T CARE LESS WHO STOLE FROM WHO!" Thunderstep screeched at them. The deputy took a few moments to collect himself before fixing the she-cats with a stern but slightly less furious glare. Slightly. "Coldstar's fresh-kill supply is starting to run down. I need some of you maggots to go on some hunting trips to replenish it. If ya'll aren't back here by sundown, there will be no rations for you tomorrow!"

Bluemoon felt briefly tempted to make a joke about how the "punishment" was more of a reward but supressed the urge. She knew from experience that sarcastic remarks were not welcome in the presence of Thunderstep. So instead, she responded with a formal "Yes deputy!" along with the other warriors and dashed off into Shadowclan's pine forest.

Bluemoon kept low to the ground, her gaze fixed on the plump mouse in front of her. As she slowly made her way towards it, she briefly entertained the thought of just eating it then and there. Starclan knew that Coldstar certainly didn't deserve it.

Reluctantly, Bluemoon dismissed the thought because, despite her slightly rebellious nature, Bluemoon followed the Warrior Code diligently, and the Warrior Code stated that she must do as her leader commands. Even if that leader was a narcissistic fox-hearted tyrant.

When the mouse finally came within reach, Bluemoon lashed out, trapping it beneath her paw. The mouse let out a terrified squeak, cut-short by a quick nip to the neck, killing the prey.

Bluemoon picked up the mouse in her jaws, which were already beginning to water at the scent of fresh-kill that's actually fresh, and looked around for a likely place to stash it.

Suddenly, something rammed into her side. Bluemoon instinctively yowled in pain as sharp claws dug mercilessly into her pelt, dropping the mouse. She lashed out blindly, claws unsheathed, at her assailant. She's met with a hiss of pain as her claws made contact and the attacker jumped back. In one movement, Bluemoon rolled onto her feet to stand on all fours, ready to take on anything the other cat had to throw at her. But all they did was lash out a paw, snag Bluemoon's mouse, and pick it up in their jaws just as she herself had done, almost too quickly for her to follow. Then, with a final glare at her, the other cat bounded off, deep into the shadows of the pine trees. Bluemoon stared after them, blinking in surprise.

The cat's scent wasn't from any of the clans, but it hadn't had any twoleg stench clinging to its fur either. And that can only mean one thing. Bluemoon felt her fur puff up with fear at the thought. Rogues.

**A/N: And that's it! Pretty short chapter for this one, but we've introduced some new characters and had a peek at life in Shadowclan! Now I know it's a little weird that Bluemoon's afraid of rogues considering the clans fight against them all the time, but this takes place years and years after the events of A Vision of Shadows, and I thought that after attacks from large rogue groups doing so much damage, it would make them more wary of rogues in general just in case there's a whole army of them. Anyway, same game as last time! Which cat is which TD character? Frostwind's OC so you don't have to guess her. If you want, you can try and guess who Coldstar is and, if you want a challenge, guess the rogue! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs.**

Emberheart followed right behind Skystar as he led Thunderclan into the gathering. She kept her gaze dutifully trained ahead of her and maintained a steady pace, occasionally turning to remind the rest of the clan to walk faster. But looking at her leader clearing the way for the rest of the clan, she couldn't help but feel a little irritated. Why couldn't she have listened to Oakstep's news? Didn't Skystar trust her? Didn't Oakstep trust her? She was the clan deputy for Starclan's sake! She was next in line to become clan leader! Surely she deserved to know anything major concerning the clan? Emberheart had tried to ask Skystar about it, but all he'd said was that it was best if the details were kept secret, and she'd hear about it at tonight's gathering.

Emberheart banished these rebellious thoughts as she stepped onto the log connecting the island to the rest of the clans. She'll just have to trust her leader's judgement.

Emberheart walked across the log extra carefully. When she had been an apprentice and on her way to her first gathering, she'd slipped on the wet surface and fallen into the water. Her siblings, Ravensong and Sparkfire (then Ravenpaw and Sparkpaw) had fallen in on purpose to make her feel better, but Emberheart still remembered the utter humiliation. A few of the other apprentices had laughed. Laughed! Even Addertongue had laughed… that particular memory always made Emberheart's pelt feel hot with shame.

She'd loved Addertongue since they were apprentices and he'd complimented her fine catch of a raven. She'd done everything she could to try and get him to lover her back: picked out the best piece of kill for him, defended him against his brother, Jayclaw, did his chores for him, everything! She was still trying to get him to love her back! Sometimes, it felt like she was succeeding: when he would brush his pelt against hers, offer to share tongues with her, volunteer to accompany her on patrols, other times she just didn't know.

Emberheart shook such bothersome Addertongue-filled thoughts out of her head and pushed through the bushes surrounding the clearing of the Gathering Place. Embarrassment flushed through her as she saw that the other clans had already arrived. Her clanmates however, were oblivious to her shame and immediately began to mingle with the other clans. Ravensong in particular seemed eager as he rushed over to talk to a blue Shadowclan she-cat. Emberheart's ears flattened with disapproval as she looked after her brother. He'd been going to talk to that she-cat every gathering, and he usually spent some time talking about her afterwards. Emberheart actually knew her name now: Bluemoon. Being in love herself, it was simple enough for her to recognise the signs, and she knew that her brother's love of Bluemoon could only lead to trouble.

"Emberheart!" A yellow she-cat with golden eyes and the smell of fish clinging to her fur bounded over to the deputy. Emberheart inclined her head to her formally. "Hello Goldstream." Goldstream's tail drooped at the formality and Emberheart's whiskers twitched with amusement. She settled herself down and wrapped her tail neatly around her paws. "So…" She began, abandoning her brisk nature from before, "how are things going with Brightwind?" Goldstream shifted awkwardly and slumped slightly. "Okay… I guess. I mean, there are times when I'd like nothing more than to finally agree to be his mate but other times… well, he can be pretty clueless." Emberheart mrowed with laughter and blinked her agreement.

Brightwind was the Riverclan deputy and had been courting Goldstream since they were apprentices. He was a very gentle and friendly tom (though lacking the proper sense of duty required of a deputy in Emberheart's opinion), but hardly the sharpest claw on the paw and he did have a tendency to say and do wrong things. He'd once told Goldstream that she "rebuilds the medicine den like a tom." Emberheart's tail twitched with irritation at the mere thought of that particular story. Addertongue would never have said such a thing.

As if plucking the thought straight from Emberheart's mind, Goldstream asked her, "What about you? Any luck with Addertongue?" Emberheart slumped over and huffed. "No change, still that maddening line between flirting and ignoring." Goldstream brushed her flank against Emberheart's comfortingly. "Don't give up; he'll come around eventually." Emberheart said nothing. She'd been working towards getting Addertongue to admit his love for her for seasons, and still nothing. Though she'd never admit it, she was beginning to lose hope.

A yowl from the Great Oak snapped Emberheart's attention away from Goldstream. The gathering had begun. The Thunderclan deputy made her way to the Great Oak and sat at its roots with the other clan deputies and the medicine cats.

Silverstar, the grey tabby leader of Windclan, was the first to speak. "That weird loner, what's his name? Rat, that's it! Anyway, he trespassed on our territory again. Nightblossom and Dayblossom saw him on a patrol when he made comments about how she-cats should only look after their kits and leave hunting to the toms." Every she-cat in the clearing, including Emberheart, hissed and yowled their disapproval. Silverstar sat up a little straighter, enjoying the reaction his statement had made among the she-cats. For some reason that Emberheart just couldn't fathom, he loved riling up the females of the clans. "Needless to say, we sent that freak on his way real quick! That's it from me! Glitterstar, anything to report?"

The blue-eyed, golden she-cat inclined her head in acknowledgement to the Windclan leader before facing the clans. "Well, other than Yellowfur managing to single-pawedly eat the entire fresh-kill pile _again_…" she paused to listen to the resulting mrows of laughter at her statement before continuing, "and my deputy completely screwing up his chances of Goldstream accepting him for a mate, _again…_" The mrows were louder this time and the yellow tabby tom in question shifted uncomfortably whilst shooting a glare at his leader. "everything's been quiet! We all still have full bellies in spite of Yellowfur and we obviously have plenty to drink. Skystar? Any news?"

Emberheart gave Skystar her full attention as he began to address the clans. Finally, she would know what big secret was between him and Oakstep.

"My medicine cat has given me some momentous news, and it doesn't bode well for the future of the clans." All the cats in the clearing started mummering fearfully and staring at Oakstep, who gave his chest fur a few embarrassed licks under the force of their gaze.

"It appears…" the noise died down as Skystar continued to speak, "that Starclan has given us a new prophecy, and my medicine cat believes it to be heralding a time of great pain and suffering for the clans."

Fearful glances were exchanged throughout the clearing. Cats retreated back into their own clans and murmured amongst themselves.

The only one who appeared to be unaffected by this news was the black and grey tabby leader of Shadowclan, Coldstar, who licked his paw and gazed cheerfully down at the clans.

"Well, now that Skystar has set the mood, let me give you a little more bad news that, now that Skystar's mentioned it, might have something to do with this big, bad prophecy that's got us all so worked up." Gradually, the mummering quietened and the attention of every cat in the clearing focused on Coldstar. He looked back at them, drinking in their unwavering attention, before finally beginning to explain. "One of our warriors was out on a hunting trip this sunhigh and had just managed to catch some prey when she found herself under attack!" Strangled meows sounded throughout the clearing and a few cats bristled, wary of an accusation coming. But they didn't have to worry, because, as Coldstar continued, he explained that the cat wasn't from any of the clans. It was a rogue.

Outraged yowls and fearful shrieks filled the air, and it took every inch of Emberheart's will not to hunker down and press her paws over her own ears in an effort to block out the noise.

A combined yowl from all four leaders finally quietened the clans. Skystar turned his head to face Coldstar. "Have you found any evidence to suggest that this rogue is part of a group?" Coldstar shrugged his shoulders. "Well, we only found out about it this sunhigh and it didn't exactly stop to chat so…" Skystar dipped his head in understanding before addressing the other leaders. "I propose that we send an emissary, perhaps a medicine cat, to question this rogue about their motives and if more are on their way, so that we can prepare for a possible attack."

"Too scared to ask me yourself?"

Emberheart snapped her head towards the unfamiliar voice that had just spoken. If she squinted, she could just make out the silhouette of a cat sitting in a tree on the edge of the clearing. Silverstar stared at the silhouette, looking taken aback. "How long have you been sitting there?"

"Throughout this whole meeting thing. What, you think I wouldn't notice that a huge bunch of cats suddenly meets up in one place? I was curious."

The cat jumped down and the crowd parted to let him through, eying him warily. Now Emberheart could see what he looked like.

The rogue was a black and white tom, with some hairs sticking up oddly between his ears. He had a big white patch on his chest with two black spots in the middle, reminding Emberheart of eyes. His legs were white, though the ankle on his right foreleg was black. The tom's pelt was black everywhere else. And he was wearing a kittypet collar, though his was unlike any other collar Emberheart had ever seen. were those… teeth?

The tom paused at the foot of the Great Oak and crouched slightly. He was going to jump. Emberheart jumped in front of him and hissed. "Only clan leaders are permitted to sit in the branches of the Great Oak!" The rogue turned his head to face her. His whiskers twitched with amusement and his icy blue eyes warmed just a little (though definitely not with kindness) at the defiant she-cat.

"Not sure if clan rules apply to a, what did you call me? A rogue?" Emberheart flattened her ears in fury. "The rules apply to any cat on our territory, including filthy rogues like you!"

"Aww, that hurts." The rogue's tone was teasing as he began to pace around Emberheart, "I just washed this morning."

"Well you must have fallen into a pile of fox dung afterwards to stink so bad." Emberheart growled back. The tom yowled with laughter.

His eyes held an almost smug glint in their icy depths as he continued to circle the deputy. Emberheart bristled and carefully moved to make sure her eyes never left the tom. This rude, arrogant… _thing_ had no right to be here! And if Emberheart had to attack in order to drive him away, then attack she will. She unsheathed her claws and growled deep in her throat. The rogue, noticing her open display of hostility unsheathed his own claws. "Alright clan cat," his voice was taunting as he bared his teeth, "let's see what you're made of."

"Emberheart!" Emberheart snapped to attention at her leader's voice. His disapproving gaze caused her to wilt with shame and she retreated back a few steps. How embarrassing, to be scolded by her leader in front of all the clans!

Skystar turned his face to the rogue. "You know our questions. Answer them." The black and white tom licked his paw nonchalantly. "How do you know I'll be telling the truth?" The leaders looked taken aback by this blunt statement, except Coldstar, who's whiskers twitched with amusement. "I like this tom."

Glitterstar looked down at the rogue haughtily. "I'll only say this once, so listen up. This is clan territory not yours, so I'd suggest you run along back to whatever stinking twoleg place you came from before we give you a few scars that won't be fading anytime soon."

"Ooh, you're going to give me a scar, now I'm terrified!" the rogue mocked Glitterstar, pretending to cringe with fear. He straightened and met the combined gaze of the four clan leaders, undaunted. "If you want me to leave, you're going to have to do more than give me a couple of scratches."

His point made, the rogue turned to leave. But before he took a step, he turned to face Emberheart. "You seem like a feisty she-cat," he remarked, eyes glittering. Emberheart glared at him, offering no reply. "What's your name?"

Emberheart blinked at the unexpected query, but quickly shook off her shock, making her glare haughty and cold. "Why do you care?" The rogue shrugged his shoulders and walked around her, running his tail under her chin. "I have a feeling I'll be seeing you around a fair bit is all." Emberheart pulled back her head and bared her teeth. The rogue just twitched his whiskers, amused.

Finally, Emberheart tossed her head and grumbled, "It's Emberheart."

"You clan cats have weird names." Emberheart just growled. The rogue's whiskers twitched again, and he shoved his muzzle in close to Emberheart's face. "You can call me Skull." He murmured. With that, he turned and bounded off, through the crowd of clan cats and out of the clearing.

**A/N: First chappie in focused on Emberheart! We get a little more insight on how she feels about Addertongue and what kind of relationship she has with him, and we've met a couple cats from Riverclan and Windclan, not to mention the rogue. Same as before guys, guess the human counterparts in the reviews! I'll be going on vacation soon, so my schedule will be a bit off, but I'll still try to post when I can! Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs.**

"Sparkfire!" No reply.

Ravensong jumped onto a rock and tried again, "Sparkfire!" Still no reply.

Ravensong sighed and jumped down from the rock. He sniffed the air, trying to catch his sister's scent.

For Starclan's sake, how hard can it be to stay in the camp like a normal cat? Actually, how hard can it be to _be_ a normal cat? Ravensong could've had two perfectly ordinary sisters, but _no_… he had to have a crazy sister with an unhealthy (and freakishly weird) obsession with fire who enjoyed getting bitten by adders and pretending to be a bird. If Ravensong found her with a broken leg lying at the roots of a tree he wouldn't be surprised.

Pausing in his search for a bit, he glanced up at the sky. It was the beautiful blue of Greenleaf, without a cloud in sight. The only lovelier shade of blue out there in Ravensong's opinion, was the blue of Bluemoon's pelt.

Ravensong wasn't a fool, he knew what having a mate in another clan would mean for him and Bluemoon. They'd be shunned, their kits scorned and forced to choose between one clan or another. Starclan, they might even be exiled! But Ravensong, thinking of Bluemoon's beautiful eyes, of her clever wit, her independence and her bravery and strength, couldn't care less about the consequences.

He hadn't fallen in love with her all at once, like Emberheart had with Addertongue. When he first saw Bluemoon, he'd thought about what a pretty she-cat she was. When he went to talk to her, he found her funny and clever. Every gathering he'd go back to talk to her, and with every conversation he liked her more. He didn't know exactly how long he'd loved her, just how long he'd known he loved her. At his warrior ceremony, when Skystar had given him his warrior name and the first thought that had crossed his mind was that he hoped Bluemoon (then Bluepaw) would like it. And he remembered thanking Starclan that she had when he told her.

Suddenly, a great weight dropped on top of Ravensong, knocking any thoughts of Bluemoon (as well as the breath) out of him. A mad cackling sounded from above and he groaned. "Hey Sparkfire."

Sparkfire's ginger head filled his vision, her green eyes glinting with that weird amusement that only Sparkfire can feel. "Hey Ravensong! Did you see Bluemoon again at the gathering? Did you tell her you liked her? Is there any rabbit in the fresh kill pile? Starclan, I am so hungry! Well Ravensong? Is there a rabbit? Is there? Is there?"

"Get off me and I'll tell you."

The weight disappeared and Ravensong gratefully arched his back, revelling in his newfound freedom.

Sparkfire shoved her face in his again, interrupting his moment of serenity. "Well? Is there rabbit?" Ravensong's whiskers crinkled with amusement as he shrugged. "Don't know, the hunting patrols left the same time as I did." Sparkfire huffed in disappointment and heavily sat back on her haunches.

Ravensong allowed himself a soft mrow of laughter before reconstructing his face into a frown. "Sparkfire, what are you doing out here? Emberheart's going to kill you! And probably me as well." The ginger she-cat hunkered down into a hunter's crouch and looked up at her brother playfully. "I'm rogue hunting!" Ravensong blinked at her. "Rogue hunting?"

"Yeah! Addertongue told me that there's a rogue running around loose in the forest and I wanted to catch it!"

Ravensong squashed the growl building in his throat, but only just. Addertongue. Of course it would be Addertongue.

Sparkfire cocked her head and regarded her brother curiously. "What does rogue taste like Ravensong?" The black tom just blinked at her in shock. Does Sparkfire plan on eating the rogue? He knew his sister was crazy but this was a whole new level!

"It tastes like the juiciest, tenderest, freshest rabbit you've ever eaten." Addertongue's smooth voice wafted over to the two cats as he padded over to them with his head held high.

Sparkfire yowled with excitement and tore off into the trees. Ravensong began to follow, but quickly gave up. Sparkfire was the fastest cat in Thunderclan, no way will he catch up to her now.

"Oops. My apologies Ravensong." Ravensong glared at Addertongue with what he hoped was the heat of a fire.

"You were trying to get her to run off! Do you know how hard it is to get her back to camp after she goes off on one of her little adventures?" Ravensong hissed, ears flattened, green eyes narrowed with hatred. Addertongue met his gaze calmly, his own green eyes cold and blank. "I am merely trying to motivate her into catching that rogue. He's dangerous and…" Addertongue hesitated, then turned his head away as if he was embarrassed. "I don't like the way he looked at Emberheart."

Ravensong growled. "So that's what this is about! You're afraid of losing your power!" Addertongue turned back to face him and blinked, as if confused. "I'm afraid you've lost me."

"Right now you make pretty much all of the deputy's decisions, but that'll only last if Emberheart keeps on loving you." Ravensong could barely keep his claws sheathed as he spat at the other cat. "But now you're not the only tom flirting with her. Now, this rogue seems to have taken a liking to her, and you're afraid that he'll actually steal Emberheart's err… _heart_ from you."

Addertongue's previously blank eyes took on a spark of outrage and he tossed his head proudly. "Please. As if that mangy piece of fox dung could win over her. And I'd watch what you say to me Ravensong." Addertongue continued with a purr, "I've seen the way you look at that Shadowclan warrior. Bluemoon, yes?" He shook his head in mock disapproval. "One of the most important rules in the Warrior Code, broken. I can only imagine what my father will do if he were to find out."

"You don't know anything about the Warrior Code!" But though the words came out of Ravensong's maw filled with defiance, his heart sank. Addertongue was right; if Skystar found out that he was in love with a cat from a different clan… well, he was already well aware of the repercussions.

"Hey…" Ravensong narrowed his eyes suspiciously as a sudden thought struck him. "what are you doing out here anyway Addertongue?"

"Oh, just doing a little bit of solo-hunting." The tabby tom replied with that persuasive ease that only served to further Ravensong's distrust.

"Uh-huh." Ravensong replied sceptically before turning and running deeper into the forest. It was high time he caught Sparkfire.

**A/N: And it's chapter 4! It's a bit short, but we get to see more on how Ravensong feels about Bluemoon, we finally include Sparkfire into the story physically, and we see yet more evidence that Addertongue is a sly, sneaky snake (pun intended). As always, we'll play the guessing game in the reviews! Please Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs!**

Brightwind sat and watched Yellowfur as he stuck his paw into the water and plucked out _yet another_ fish.

"Nice catch dude! That should be enough for now." Yellowfur's eyes glittered happily as he started pushing along the huge pile of fish. To try and help out the chubby yellow tom (and keep him from sneakily eating some of the fish), Brightwind scooped a couple away from the pile and pushed them himself.

"So… how are things going with Goldstream?" Brightwind deflated slightly at the question "Tom, I though Goldstream and I were tight but lately, I don't know, it's like she's fading on me." He shook off his depression and mrowed with laughter at what he just said. "Nah! It's all good!"

A snort tore his attention away from Yellowfur to the small, skinny black tom sniffing around the river banks for herbs. Ebonytail.

"Yeah," the medicine cat drawled, "and I'm Yellowfang!"

Brightwind cocked his head, feeling confused. Who's Yellowfang? And what did Ebonytail mean? Things with Goldstream were going great!

"It's true though! I made her an awesome gift just this sunup!"

"I know," Ebonytail replied dryly, "you left it in the medicine den, remember? And wow, was she _thrilled._" Ebonytail's voice took on a distinctly sarcastic tone as he finished.

"Uuh… dude? What exactly did you give her?" Yellowfur asked Brightwind uncertainly.

"A fish carved with her face."

Yowling laughter burst from the tree-line and Brightwind's head snapped up to glare at whoever was laughing at the present he'd made for Goldstream. Though the laughter continued, there was no sign of the culprit.

Ears flattening, Brightwind prowled forward. He narrowed his blue eyes as he stared intently into the branches of the tree the laughter was coming from. Still no sign. "Usually, I'm all for a good laugh," Brightwind growled, "but there was a reason I was made deputy of Riverclan, and unless you want to find out why that is…"

"Oh, a deputy? Too bad I don't know what that means, else I might actually be intimidated."

A thin black and white form dropped down from the branches. "Not."

Brightwind studied the cat. It was the rogue from the gathering, Skull, he thought his name was. He wasn't acting particularly aggressive right now though, just sitting in front of Brightwind wearing a cocky expression on his face.

"ROGUE!" Brightwind's head whipped around at Yellowfur's shriek, just in time to see him try (and fail) to hide behind Ebonytail, who flicked his tail with annoyance at him. "Wow, you're such a brave warrior."

"You call yourselves _warriors?_ And I thought this tom's flirting was pathetic!"

Brightwind glared at Skull, who looked just about ready to burst into laughter all over again. "I'm not pathetic!" Skull gave him a look. "Uh, yeah you are dude! I may not have much experience with clan she-cats since they, you know, kinda want to kill me, but even I can tell you that carving their face on a fish is just plain dumb."

Brightwind cocked his head and studied the rogue. "So… I screwed up."

"Give the tom a mouse." Came Ebonytail's voice, "Also, allow me to congratulate you guys! You're doing your jobs awesomely, sitting and talking to an intruder."

Brightwind and Yellowfur both hunched over, embarrassed, and Skull yowled with laughter again. "Man, you toms seriously suck! Anyway, I don't care much for fish so mind pointing me where I can snag some mice? And not the pine forest, that place stinks of rotten prey."

"You can try Thunderclan's territory," Suggested Yellowfur, gesturing across the lake with his tail, "they've got plenty of mice, and even a few squirrels! Mm, squirrels…"

Skull shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever." With that final comment, the rogue bounded off in the direction of Thunderclan's territory.

Ebonytail fixed Yellowfur with a glare. "Great work, now we just have to hope he doesn't blab about who directed him to Thunderclan." Brightwind mrowed with laughter and came up to stand beside the Ebonytail. "Aw, lighten up Ebonytail, no harm done! Besides, Skull doesn't know about Riverclan, we'll be fine." The medicine cat cocked his head and studied Brightwind. "How do you know his name's Skull?"

"I heard him introducing himself to Emberheart at the gathering. Anyway, let's get these fish back to camp so we can eat!" Yellowfur finally came out from behind Ebonytail with his tail held high. "That, is a good call!"

Brightwind continued to push his pile of fish towards the camp. He'd asked Ebonytail to help him and Yellowfur out since he was only carrying some borage, but he'd only replied, "You know, you toms are doing such an awesome job on your own that I don't want to mess up your mojo." And that had been the end of that conversation.

Suddenly, a sharp pain sliced through Brightwind's paw and he fell down with a dramatic cry. "Ah, my paw! I'm down! I'm down! Oh, it's so unfair! Why did this have to happen now? Why? Why?"

Yellowfur gasped in horror and rushed to Brightwind's side. "Dear Starclan, how could you let this happen?" Ebonytail was far less sympathetic as he examined Brightwind's paw. "Dude… it's just a tooth. And it's tiny."

"I need to be taken to the medicine den!" Brightwind yowled in pain.

"You don't need to be taken to the medicine den." Ebonytail deadpanned back.

"I need the medicine den!"

"You don't."

"I do!"

Ebonytail finally consented to bringing Brightwind into the medicine den, on the condition that he'd stop all that "ridiculous whining". Yellowfur slung him onto his back and carried him back to camp.

"Brightwind!" The deputy raised his head as Goldstream came rushing over, eyes wide with terror. "Oh Starclan, are you okay?"

"My paw…" He groaned in reply, showing her the "horrific injury". She gasped and sniffed the wound. "I've seen warriors torn apart by badgers but this… this is _horrifying._"

"Please tell me you're being sarcastic." Ebonytail pleaded with her, actually sounding pretty desperate.

"We gotta get this tom into the medicine den!" Yellowfur cried and rushed under the thorn bush overhanging the medicine den, with Goldstream close behind and Ebonytail dragging his paws.

"Let's get this over with." The medicine cat groaned and gestured for Yellowfur to dump Brightwind onto one of the piles of bedding. Then, quickly, sharply, he tugged the offending tooth out of Brightwind's paw, prompting yet another yowl of pain.

Goldstream quickly nuzzled Brightwind's cheek, mummering to him softly. The deputy purred in response.

"Huh. That's weird." All the cats in the medicine den turned to look at Ebonytail, who was examining the tooth looking confused.

"What is?" Goldstream cocked her head but didn't leave Brightwind's side, much to his relief.

"This isn't a cat tooth. In fact, it looks more like a… _dog_ tooth. From one of the small, loud twoleg dogs I think."

"Maybe it fell off Skull's collar," suggested Brightwind, pushing himself to his paws, "he's got some teeth on there." Ebonytail shook his head. "Those were all cat teeth, and way bigger than this one."

Suddenly, the medicine cat threw back his head and groaned.

"What's wrong?" Asked Goldstream.

He fixed them all with a resigned look. "I'll have to report this to Glitterstar."

**A/N: And there you have it! Chapter 5! If you haven't guessed Brightwind and Goldstream yet, then you're sure to now since I literally quoted Brightwind's character and recreated a moment in TDI. We've introduced the Riverclan medicine cat, Ebonytail (who is really fun to write BTW) and Riverclan warrior Yellowfur and a mystery! Where did the dog tooth come from? And what could it possibly mean for the clans? All in good time, dear readers. Next update, it's the gathering of the medicine cats! None of the cats in this chapter are OC, so feel free to guess them all! Please review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs.**

Oakstep picked his way to the Moonpool. Normally, he be moving at a fast trot but tonight he was afraid of another vision of the prophecy. He still shuddered to think of all those invisible wailing cats and that sea of blood destroying the world around him.

But despite his fears, he was hopeful. Maybe Starclan would give him some more advice on how to go about protecting the clans from the foretold destruction. At this point, he needed it. And of course the other medicine cats will be there to offer advice. By the end of the night, he hoped to have a plan. Partly because Emberheart won't stop shoving questions at him.

When he arrived at the Moonpool, two other medicine cats had already arrived: Frostwind and Skywing, the Shadowclan and Windclan medicine cats.

Oakstep liked Skywing. He was the youngest of the four medicine cats, shoved into the role before he was ready due to the death of his mentor, Nightgaze. He was also the most empathetic of the four and found it the hardest to deal with the death of a cat under his care.

Frostwind was a different story all together. Oakstep had never heard Frostwind say a word, not even when her clan was in trouble and she needed the others to lend her medicine supplies. When that had happened, she'd just wailed and wailed while the others frantically ventured guesses as to what was wrong. Normally, she was as silent and cold as the frost she was named after, though Oakstep often thought he could see a deep sadness in her eyes if he looked hard enough.

"Alright, I'm here, let's get this over with so I can go back to camp before dawn." All the present medicine cats turned toward the scathing voice to see Ebonytail slinking towards them.

Oakstep didn't much like Ebonytail. He held very little sympathy for his patients and, to Oakstep's knowledge, hadn't said a kind word in his life! But he was very smart and very good at what he did, even if he did it with no compassion whatsoever.

Ebonytail fixed his gaze on him. "Any news from Thunderclan, Oakstep?" He shook his head. "Nothing except the prophecy. We have plenty of herbs and no serious injuries. If I said I wasn't enjoying the downtime though, I'd be lying." Oakstep finished with an amused twitch of his whiskers.

Skywing stepped forward. "Everything's quiet in Windclan too. The worst I've had to treat it a bellyache."

Ebonytail glanced and Frostwind, who just nodded slightly to show that everything was fine in Shadowclan.

"Well, I wish my life was as quiet as yours." Ebonytail grumbled. "Brightwind made a huge fuss over something in his paw and Glitterstar's been pestering me none-stop to commune with Starclan, even though I keep telling her that it doesn't work like that. But what's interesting is that Brightwind had a dog tooth stuck in his paw."

Now _this_ procured a reaction. A dog? On the clan territories? Even a kit could see that this was bad news.

Skywing shifted his paws nervously before looking up at Oakstep. "Do you think it has anything to do with Starclan's prophecy?"

"What is the prophecy anyway?" Ebonytail added. As always, Frostwind remained silent.

Oakstep frowned as he struggled to remember before reciting:

"_An old enemy approaches to finish what they started;_

_Look for the skull to receive your first warning;_

_Or blood will reign forever."_

Ebonytail's eyes widened as he listened. Noticing this, Oakstep asked what he thought first.

"I can't speak for the whole prophecy, but I know for a fact that the rogue's name is Skull. Then again, my information came from Brightwind, who's hardly a reliable source."

Oakstep felt excitement welling inside his chest. Finally, _finally_ he had a lead! Now if he could just speak with that rogue, maybe he could figure out the rest of the prophecy too! It shouldn't be too hard, Oakstep generally got along pretty well with everyone.

Skywing's eyes were shining with excitement and even Frostwind looked uncannily interested. For a moment, Oakstep thought she might speak, but her voice stayed firmly locked away.

Ebonytail shook off his own interest and flicked his tail to the Moonpool. "Anyway, you guys do realise there's a reason we all meet in this particular spot every half-moon, right?" Skywing (who'd never been very good at picking up on Ebonytail's sarcasm) opened his maw to answer, but Ebonytail was already touching his nose to the water. Soon, the rest of the medicine cats followed suit and, with no small amount of apprehension, Oakstep closed his eyes.

But, to his confusion, Oakstep didn't fall asleep. He shuffled this way and that, trying to let his mind wander along the familiar paths to Starclan's hunting grounds, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes to see if the other medicine cats were having the same problem and gasped.

This wasn't the Moonpool, or even the lake where the clans lived! It was a dark nook between two towering twoleg nests. Oakstep opened his jaws and recoiled as the taste of monsters filled his maw.

A small mewling reached his ears and her turned to look for its source. He saw a huge black tom with his back to Oakstep standing in a far corner. Though Oakstep couldn't see past the tom, he knew he was standing over kits, and maybe their mother as well.

His suspicions were confirmed when a female voice hissed from the corner. "No Ruthless! I will not force my kits into this life! I want something better for them! A future where they don't have to spend their every waking moment fighting for their lives!"

"You don't have a choice in the matter Winter." The tom, Ruthless, growled back, "These are my kits too you know. What you call suffering, I call toughening up! Would you rather they grew up to be as soft and pathetic as a house-cat?"

"If it means they can live a safe, comfortable life, then yes, absolutely!"

Ruthless snarled and lunged forward. Oakstep started to move to stop him, but he blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, he was back at the Moonpool.

**A/N: Ooh, now we're getting somewhere! Why would Oakstep dream of a twoleg place? And what do Ruthless and Winter have to do with the story? Skywing, Winter and Ruthless are all my OCs so you don't have to guess them. Please review!**


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